L.A. County Sheriff's Department on the scene where suspects crashed a van in an alley between Palo Verde and Hackett avenues, near Conant Street in Long Beach. The van reportedly was stolen out of Anaheim, Lakewood sheriff's officials said. A Los Angeles County Lakewood deputy was following the vehicle Wednesday morning from the Lakewood Mall and shortly after the deputy stopped following it, the van crashed in an alley near Palo Verde and Conant, Sgt. Joe Reveles said. Long Beach Calif., Wednesday July 23, 2014. (Stephen Carr / Staff Photographer)

L.A. County Sheriff's Department on the scene where suspects crashed a van in an alley between Palo Verde and Hackett avenues, near Conant Street in Long Beach. Long Beach Calif., Wednesday July 23, 2014. (Stephen Carr / Staff Photographer)

LONG BEACH >>Two men are in custody after they crashed a van reportedly stolen out of Anaheim, Lakewood sheriff’s officials said.

A Los Angeles County Lakewood deputy was following the vehicle Wednesday morning from the Lakewood Mall and shortly after the deputy stopped following it, the van crashed in an alley near Palo Verdes Avenue and Conant Street, Sgt. Joe Reveles said.

Reveles said there wasn’t a pursuit.

Around 7:45 a.m., the deputy was alerted to the stolen van through a license plate reader. Officials wouldn’t say if the reader was mobile or at a fixed location.

The deputy spotted the vehicle, called for assistance and was waiting for more support when the van drove into Long Beach, Reveles said.

The crash led authorities to shut down the roadways surrounding the alley.

It’s unclear if either man inside was hurt in the incident or the extent of the damage caused.

The identities of the men inside the stolen vehicle were not released.

Beatriz E. Valenzuela is an award-winning journalist who’s covered breaking news in Southern California since 2006 and has been on the front lines of several national and international news events. She’s worked for media outlets serving Southern California readers covering education, local government, entertainment and all things nerd including comic book culture and video games. She’s an amateur obstacle course racer, constant fact-checker, mother of three and lover of all things adorable.